Video: M.I.A.’s controversial “Born Free”

M.I.A. is back with a cinematic music video for her new song “Born Free.” Why is this video controversial? An old saggy couple having naked sex, an ethnic man taking a hit off a crack pipe and a fat lady getting beat down by SWAT officers are just a few of the reasons. But you can skip ahead to the 8:30 mark for the moneyshot: a dude getting obliterating into a burst of blood and guts by an explosion… in slow motion! We suspect people are going to praise this video, claiming it exposes some kind of vague truth about some messed up goings-on somewhere… or something. The message of the video seems to be, “Genocide is bad.” Our response is, “No shit.” So let’s cut the crap and just view this video for what it is: an impressive exercise in action cinematography by director Romain Gavras (not to mention, a throwback to the music video Golden Age when Chris Cunningham was king) and a calculated attempt to drum up pre-album buzz for a pop singer who thrives on pseudo-controversy to sell pseudo-political dance music.